Synthesizer

I've been listening to a lot of Lo-Fi and the like lately, along with almost constantly listening to cyberia's cafe channel. I've been thinking about buying a synthesizer, so what do you guys recommend? I'm also not exactly rich, so is there anything decent I can get for a reasonable price?

Probably a microKorg, that's what everyone keeps telling me to get. As much as I'd love one of their analogues that are around the same price, only having one-note-at-a-time kinda limits what you can do with it (no chords, basically)

First; Check out the following concepts: VSTI or virtual instruments, (multi) timbrality vs Polyphony, DAW, Analog vs digital synths (or virtual analog etc) - You'd want to look at a synth with subtractive synthesis (coincidently most accessible, popular etc), though you dont need to know what means is for now. - There are a lot of great free software synths (vsti) that rival hardware equivalents. You can use a midi controller or synth with midi to play them, or program music in a DAW. Tip; get Reaper (daw), and a VSTI like tyrell n6. Play with these for few hours, along with the aforementioned concepts you will understand what you seek in a synth. - one of the main reasons to go for a hardware synth; hands on editing and playability. This means you want knobs and not buttons and menus. Dont get a microkorg (or similar); it's decent sounding, but basically a preset synth with a toykeyboard. So you'd have to use a software editor on your pc, to get anywhere outside of the presets.

I'd go the softsynth route if you don't have a lot of money to spend. I do think there is value in using hardware synths, but you don't really start seeing that value until you're a couple thousand dollars into it. Something like ableton will give you an all-in-one digital production studio with all the synths and effects you really need to get started. I'd recommend learning the builtin tools inside and out before you start getting into VSTs. That's my general beginner recommendation (assuming you want to get into electronic music production and you don't care about live capabilities, extreme experimentation, or playing as part of a band), but there may be better options depending on what you know already and what you plan to do.

>>1870 Start out with software, there's a lot of good freeware ( a lot of bad ones too. Just search for 'the best free synth vst 2018' and you'll find something fitting). I don't think it makes any sense to start with hardware synths when modern software is so good. If you really want hardware, consider buying used so you can resell it without any loss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDge3-JsJ0A this is pretty autistic but here it goes, are the tunes that are being played by the david bowie look alike (gary), harder than the ones played the white suit? it sounds like the white suit is playing something with more technical skill than david bowie, also seeing a this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZyR8yMUDTU, it looks like david bowie should have lost, being that you guys play the synth what do you think?

>>2172 I don't think anything that's being played there is technically difficult, the melodies are being arpeggiated/sequenced and not actually "played"... The characters are just mashing the keys randomly anyway... It's a cartoon, you know.........

>>2172 OP here. I'd say david bowie but I play the piano, not the synth so I could be wrong. Though, I have played a synth a few times.

Check out SunVox if you're interested in granular synthesis. I'm still getting the hang of it but from videos I've seen, it looks and sounds schway

>>2204 Do you mean modular? I don't see a granular engine in the SunVox... I'd also suggest VCVrack and maybe automatonism if you're into modular. https://vcvrack.com/ https://www.automatonism.com/the-software I should look into granular synthesis though, I'm familiar with pretty much every other form of synthesis expect granular.